Doncaster 25 Otley 15

With Doncaster riding high in National League One, Otley knew they were in for a hard game.

However, they raised their game admirably, being well worth their interval lead but they were ground down by the relentless pressure exercised by the giant home pack, conceding three tries from forward drives before conceding a fourth late in the game, due mainly to exhaustion. The prospect of this derby had obviously set the pulses flowing for Otley were unrecognisable as the team who had been sunk at Coventry, despite scrum half Neil Chivers having joined the ever-expanding list of injuries.

And worse was to come with Paul Mooney (half-time), Mai-fea Maifea (73 minutes) suffering shoulder knocks and Steve Parsons dislocating his shoulder after 63 minutes.

Happily skipper Ian Shuttle-worth and Andy Brown started and there was a return for Howard Parr, who came on for Dave Whitehead after 54 minutes.

Otley, who easily handled Doncaster's opening salvos, took the lead after 11 minutes when, after a thrilling move by their backs, Maifea straightened before putting Matt Stockdale in at the corner.

Glen Wilson, skipper at Cross Green last year, levelled the scores when he grounded from a forward drive but Brown nudged Otley ahead with a penalty and the scrum-half converted a try from James Tiffany, who started the attack with a well-taken line-out ball.

After Shuttleworth had come into the line, Tiffany took his inside pass to go over.

Doncaster fly half Mark Woodrow added a penalty and they moved ahead with tries by skipper Jason Forster (53 minutes), prop Simon Bunting (60 minutes) and winger Wes Davies (77 minutes).